Monday, 13 February 2017

Current Affairs-GK Update 13th February 2017

The World Radio Day is celebrated every year on 13th of february to celebrate radio as the medium for entertainment, information and the mode for communication.

This theme for this year is Radio is You, a call for greater participation of audiences and communities in the policy and planning of radio broadcasting.

The day was first celebrated in 2012 following its declaration by the UNESCO General Conference.

On this day every year, UNESCO celebrates World Radio Day by planning activities with broadcasters, organizations, and communities around the world.

2. INS Sarvekshak becomes India’s first ship to go green:

Indian Navy’s survey vessel INS Sarvekshak, based at the Southern Naval Command in Kochi became the first naval ship to go green by installing a solar power system on board.

It has innovatively deployed the zero-maintenance solar power system, capable of generating 5.4KW electricity and replacing the ship’s traditional 4.4KW emergency diesel alternator.

The solar power generating system has been installed by customising and installing ‘razor-thin, flexible’ solar panels on the canopy of its telescopic (retractable) helicopter deck.

3. National Women’s Parliament begins in Andhra Pradesh:

The three-day National Women’s Parliament, being organised by Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly with the theme ‘Empowering Women - Strengthening Democracy’, began in the state capital region Amaravati.

The vision of NWP is to enable and encourage social, political and economic empowerment of women in all strata of the society.

One of the objectives of NWP is to generate new ideas, concepts, theories and ideologies for women empowerment.An ‘International Woman Icon of the World’ award and 12 best young achievers awards for women in different fields will be presented at the NWP.

4. Frank-Walter Steinmeier elected President of Germany:

Former German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (61-year) has been elected as the President of Germany by a Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Berlin.

Steinmeier takes up the job on 19th March by replacing current President, Joachim Gauck.

Lawmakers and representatives from various social fields delegated by Germany's 16 states are represented in the assembly.

Electors include Joachim Loew, the national football coach, and Olivia Jones, a colorful drag queen sent to vote by the Green Party in Lower Saxony.

5. FSSAI sets up panel to finalise laws on food fortification:

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set up a 11 member scientific panel to frame final regulations on fortification of foods and prepare strategies to address malnutrition problem.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has already issued the draft guidelines on fortification for five food items including salt, milk, wheat flour, rice and edible oil to boost production and consumption of fortified foods.

6. India to host counter-radicalisation conference with ASEAN:

India is planning to host a conference on counter-radicalisation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in October 2017.

It will provide common platform to countries for sharing experiences and ideas on prevention of radicalisation amid rise of Islamic State and other extremist ideologies

This conference will also help participating countries to learn from each other’s best practices on promoting deradicalisation.

7. Second edition of International Spice Conference Begins at Thiruvananthapuram:

The second edition of the International Spice Conference began at Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala from February 12, 2017.

The three days conference has been hosted by All India Spices Exporters Forum (AISEF) in association with the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The conference was inaugurated by the Nestle India Limited Chairman and Managing director Suresh Narayanan.

The theme of the conference is '21st Century Spic Industry-Disrupt or be Disrupted'.

The main aim of the event is to deliberate on effective strategies and innovative technologies to improve the livelihood of spice farmers, address spice industry challenges, food safety concern, demand supply disparity and foster sustainable growth.

8. BAFTA 2017: La La Land takes 5 trophies, Dev Patel wins for Lion:

The Director Damien Chazelle's musical "La La Land" has taken 5 trophies at the 70th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) ceremony at Royal Albert Hall, London.

British-Indian star Dev Patel got recognition for his role in "Lion", getting award for best supporting actor.

"La La Land", which also won Chazelle the best director, took five prizes including best picture and best actress for Emma Stone.

Viola Davis won the best-supporting-actress prize for "Fences".

The 70th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) honor the best British and international contributions to film in 2016.

9. Grammy Awards 2017: India's Sandeep Das wins best World Music Album with Yo-Yo Ma:

Indian tabla player Sandeep Das was part of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble "Sing Me Home" which won the Grammy in the World Music category that also included sitarist Anoushka Shankar's ‘Land of Gold’.

British singer Adele has won top awards at Grammys and She walked away with major prizes-- Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year in a surprise upset at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Adele won in all the five categories that she was nominated for including Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album, triumphing over Beyonce, who was the front-runner in the race.

The late David Bowie's performance on his song Blackstar won him Grammys for best rock performance and best rock song. Solange, Beyonce's little sister, won the best rhythm and blues performance for Cranes in the Sky.

The best country song performance nod went to Maren Morris for My Church.

Yo-Yo Ma's "Sing Me Home" features tunes composed by different global artists as it examines the ever-changing idea of home.

The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on 12th February ,2017 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

10. Narinder Chauhan appointed as Ambassador of India to the Republic of Philippines:

Former IFS officer Narinder Chauhan has been appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of the Philippines.

Currently Narinder is working as the Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of Serbia.

11. Sandeep Jajodia appointed Assocham president:

Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd. CMD Sandeep Jajodia has been appointed the new president of industry chamber Assocham.

Balkrishan Goenka, Chairman, Welspun Group and Kiran Kumar Grandhi, vice-chairman of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, have taken over as senior vice-president and vice-president respectively.

Assocham will continue to play a transformational role both nationally and globally and the chamber will empower Indian enterprises by focusing on the most critical and relevant issues in a highly impact-oriented manner stated Jajodia who took over from Sunil Kanoria former President of ASSOCHAM.

Taniguchi achieved an international following with works such as The Walking Man, The Summit of the Gods and The Magic Mountain, hailed for exquisite line drawing and intricately-constructed landscapes.

He was especially popular in France, one of the biggest markets for graphic art.